I got a rather late start in life writing novels, and I wrote my first one without the benefit of any training, planning, or knowledge of the publishing industry. That was when self-publishing was still an unfavorable method of getting published, so when I finished writing the book, I conducted an exhaustive search for an agent. After being rejected by numerous agents and  advised to have the manuscript professionally edited, I found someone willing to take a look at it, and she enlightened me to the fact that I had violated just about every rule on writing fiction known to man.

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Not to be discouraged (and because no one was going to get away with telling me my work was, well, worthless), I enrolled in classes at The University of Chicago and read every book and article I could find on how to write fiction. I rewrote my novel (it actually became two) and self-published them in 2012. What an eye-opener that was!

 

After successfully writing several more novels, I published How to Write, Publish, and Promote a Novel to help new and aspiring writers avoid all the costly mistakes I made when I first started out. My advice to all of you is to read this book before you start writing. I promise you that it will save valuable time and effort in the long run.

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If you are interested in literary fiction, please visit my website/blog where you can see what my books are about and read Chapter 1 from each of them if you so desire.

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Today, I continue to write literary fiction at my home on a small, tranquil lake in northern Illinois where I enjoy all the native wildlife who come for frequent day and nighttime visits.